Pics of my newest candidate for Favorite City: Kuala Lumpur

Normally a big building strikes me as just
ridiculous, in a Freudian way, but I
liked the Petronas Towers. Probably
the closest I'll ever come to liking
an oil company.

I stayed on Ko Phi Phi for two full days, three nights...and that island was dreadful.

Well, it would have been great when I was 18-23, then I would have fit in (a little bit) better with the hordes of youngsters trying to get drunk and laid, but now, at the ripe old age of older-than-that, it was booooring. A gorgeous island now utterly devoid of substance, conversation, or thought, as far as I could tell.

Basically it was paradise...before Tourism ate it. And crapped it back out again, in time for the drunken dung beetles to enjoy the nightly fire dancing (which in itself was fantastic). I would have been lost if I hadn't met Hector, a Nicaraguan lad of great stories, jolly cheer, and a reliable willingness to ride the mechanical bull. (Because they had one of those, oy vey.)

But that's how I like to travel, at least two full days in each spot, more if it's great (see: Budapest, Mindo, Pokhara) and less if it blows (see: oh I could never name names, but I might point out that I spent less than 24 hours in Singapore).

The street food stall where I finished my birthday, choosing
various beasts and watching them grill them up for me.
The duck was the best. Lordie that was tasty.

But all of a sudden, I find myself rushing. Only two nights in Kuala Lampur, one in Melaka, and one in Singapore. Last night was one in Bangkok, and in a few hours I fly to Hong Kong for just two full days. Because to my surprise, I am heading back to the US for a bit. Only a minimal idea for how long

I am looking forward to Hong Kong, but before I head there, I want to take a moment to pay a little homage to my newest candidate for Favorite City: Kuala Lampur.

Merdeka Square, the traditional heart of the city, where
Malaysian independence was declared in 1957. The
Petronas Towers in the distance. These guys were hilarious.

Kuala Lampur is absolutely beautiful. I went for a short stroll one night that stretched happily on and on until I wondered at the empty streets and got back to my room to find it was 1:00 AM.

Looking at the pictures on my tiny screen I was in love, seeing them now...not so much. But in their place, a warm Ramadan night in Malaysia, in the right mood, loving the vagabond flow, it was beauty in my eyes.